The grand December wedding debate: to be Christmassy or not to be Christmassy? That is the question many December brides face when they are planning their weddings. It is totally a matter of personal opinion and style. In this blog post, I’m going to share with you some cute detail and design ideas from December weddings I’ve photographed, both Christmassy and not Christmassy! Let’s get into it.

Christmas-themed December Wedding Decor

Let’s start with a Christmassy wedding. I photographed a wedding the first weekend of December at Mendenhall Inn in Chadds Ford, PA, that leaned into its proximity to Christmas very well. Mendenhall Inn is a great winter venue because the inside space is gorgeous. And in December, the grand ballroom has a massive, beautiful Christmas tree that a grand staircase wraps around! So right off the bat, the venue itself gives Christmas.

But the colors of the wedding were honestly perfect for Christmas vibes: white, gold and emerald green with hints of red. The bridesmaids wore velvet emerald green dresses, the invitations were white with green words, green accents and like tiny gold accents throughout and the florals were white and green. There was no red in the color scheme. However, any sort of red accent throughout the day – be in the red flowers at the Catholic church, the red plaid bridesmaid PJs or the red decorations on the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby where we did the first look with dad – looked VERY good with that color scheme. And it was those accents of their surroundings that added to the Christmassy feel of the day. I think it was genius to not include red in the official colors of the wedding, but to instead embrace the red of the Christmas decorations in their surroundings. It made for a Christmassy wedding that was not over the top Christmas!! Which meant the photos were timeless, which is always a good thing. Big fan of this wedding – shoutout Jenny and Ryan for putting together such an incredible day.

Wintry December Wedding with No Christmas Vibes

Moving onto a not-so-Christmassy December wedding. We’ll use the term “wintry”, because this wedding definitely embraced winter vibes while remaining modern & classy. While the Christmassy wedding included emerald green in the color theme, this wedding was strictly black, white and gold. The bridesmaids wore black velvet dresses, the invitation suite was black white and gold, the reception details like the seating chart was all black white and gold, and even the photos on display for the “generations of love” table and the guest book were all black and white photos with gold frames! It was a very seamless and elegant look.

The pops of color, which was pretty much only green (no red) came pretty much entirely from the florals! The bride’s bouquet included various white flowers surrounded by pine tree greenery tied together with a black ribbon. That pine greenery was a mainstay for all the floral decoration. The boutonnieres had pine in them and the sweetheart table had pine greenery with twinkle lights surrounding it. It was really pretty!! The reception table centerpieces did not have pine, however, which I think was a great decision so as not to overdo one specific ingredient to the floral design. The centerpieces instead had little bud vases of various white flowers that were in the bouquet alongside clear table number signs with black writing. And the cake was just white icing with a black topper and a little bit of baby’s breath for decor. The cool thing about green as an accent color is that even the flower stems felt like they belonged!! Major shoutout to Jacky and Austin for designing such a gorgeous wedding day.

In Summary: The Color Red Makes or Breaks the Christmas Vibe

The Christmassy December wedding felt Christmassy without overdoing it because it welcomed the Christmas reds from the surroundings. and the color scheme allowed for that blending to work really well. Because in December, there are going to be Christmassy things around. And the wintry wedding that was not really Christmassy at all achieved that look by really sticking to the simple yet classy color scheme down to the smallest detail.

I hope you learned something about how a color scheme can impact the vibes of your wedding day! But as I always want to drive home – all this stuff, the design, the color scheme, the vibes – all of that is just icing on the cake. And the cake is you getting married to the love of your life 🙂

For more wedding tips, check out Why Unplugged Ceremonies Are Always A Good Idea and How To Get Candid Photos On Your Wedding Day. Want to listen to more wedding planning tips, hear stories from past brides and learn more about local vendors? Check out my podcast, The Busy Bride, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts!!